Lead Counsel for EMEA - Network Deals & Products (Discover Global Payment Network) in London

Location: London (Hammersmith) - Hybrid Working Pattern: 3 days in-office (Tuesday-Thursday) and 2 days remote.

About the Role

The Capital One Legal Department is seeking an experienced and collaborative corporate trained deal/product attorney to join our Global Payment Network Legal team, to lead our legal strategy and business growth across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). You won’t just be giving advice; you will be a critical strategic partner embedded directly within the business. The successful candidate will be a valued member of a truly global team, providing legal and commercial guidance to the Global Payments Network, to support the business in navigating our growth agenda.

What you’ll do

• Serve as lead counsel to help drive international expansion for our Global Payments Network by providing strategic and actionable legal and commercial advice and expertise.
• Own our EMEA legal and commercial contracting strategy, and delivery roadmap for the Global Payments Network.
• Provide cross-functional assistance by partnering closely with Risk and Compliance officers to ensure comprehensive support.
• Provide thought and strategic leadership on relevant legal and commercial considerations for EMEA.
• Engage and oversee outside legal counsel as needed in an effective and efficient manner.
• Stay abreast of external legal and regulatory developments and expectations that could impact the environment in which Capital One operates, understanding its impact on Capital One's inherent compliance risk.
• Stand up and refine processes that make legal workflows dramatically more efficient and user-friendly for our business partners.

What you’ll bring

• Qualified solicitor with 6+ years of post-qualification experience.
• Prior experience negotiating, drafting, and guiding implementation of commercial agreements strongly preferred.
• Experience working within a financial services environment.
• Strong business judgment and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication skills, with an ability to clearly communicate legal and commercial terms, business strategy, and compliance risk to stakeholders at all levels across the business and to external stakeholders.
• A willingness and ability to influence and effectively challenge stakeholders with credibility at all levels of business, as well as external stakeholders.
• Being comfortable balancing trade-offs between risk and returns in order to achieve our business objectives and to support us in effectively managing all compliance legal risks associated with Capital One.
• An ability to understand complex topics quickly with depth that allows for the delivery and actionable insights.
• An ability to build and leverage relevant networks inside and outside the organisation.

Where and how you'll work

This is a permanent position based in our London (Hammersmith) office. We embrace a hybrid approach to work. You'll spend three days a week in the office (Tuesday-Thursday), with Monday and Friday being dedicated work-from-home days.

What’s in it for you

We invest in the growth of our people alongside our business. You will have extensive opportunities to learn and develop your career, including access to up to £5,000 in funding for external qualifications. In addition to career development, our comprehensive benefits package is designed to grow with you, ensuring your wellbeing is prioritised at every stage of your career:

• Wealth & Future: Competitive pension and performance-based bonus schemes.
• Holidays: Start with 25 days of annual leave, increasing with tenure. Need more? You have the option to buy 5 additional days.
• Health: Access premium care through our private medical insurance.
• Family Support: We champion your milestones with enhanced parental leave.

What you should know about how we recruit

We pride ourselves on hiring the best people, not the same people. Building diverse and inclusive teams is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. We want to work with top talent: whoever you are, whatever you look like, wherever you come from. We know it’s about what you do, not just what you say. That’s why we make our recruitment process fair and accessible. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging at our core.

Who We Are

At Capital One, we're building a leading information-based technology company. Still founder-led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Fairbank, Capital One is on a mission to help our customers succeed by bringing ingenuity, simplicity, and humanity to banking. We measure our efforts by the success our customers enjoy and the advocacy they exhibit. Together, we are on a quest to change banking for good.